I Do Windows

I washed my windows.
Whoa.
Did you all know it was Spring???

Things I Used to Do, But Don't Anymore

* I used to wear socks with my sandals. I don't anymore.
* I used to desire clothing that said Esprit, Paris Sport Club or BUM. I don't anymore.
* I used to pin my pant legs. Really tight. I don't anymore.
* I used to roll my pant legs. Really tight. I don't anymore.
* I used to wear banana clips. I don't anymore.
* I used to consume an entire meal without getting up out of my chair. I don't anymore.
* I used to think twice before touching things that are gross. I don't anymore.
* I used to think I needed "experts" to teach my children and so I put my boys on a bus to be taught by employees of the state. I don't anymore. (Now I know that I am the expert on my children and I teach them at home.)
* I used to think all naughty behavior was clearly due to a lack of training. I don't anymore.
* I used to think that laundry baskets were for laundry. I don't anymore. (Now I know that they also work for playing "dog cages", turtle shells, and for general entertainment purposes like hitching yourself to one with a rope and carting your siblings around the house.)
* I used to not allow my boys to play with toy guns. Not anymore. This change happened when I noticed that they would make guns out of their hands, graham crackers, and/or sandwich crusts no matter what I said or did anyway.
* I used to be unaware that if you didn't want information broadcast to the people who stop to chat in grocery store aisles that you don't tell that information to your kids. Even if you say "but we don't need to mention that to people..." your kids will still say it and then say, "but Mom said we shouldn't mention that..." I know this now.
* I used to think the idea of washing poo was gross. I don't anymore. (In fact, I've now crossed over into "I-can't-believe-I'm-going-to-just-throw-this-away"-when-I-use-a-disposable-diaper type of thinking.)
* I used to see a motorcycle on the road and think "Hm. A motorcycle." Not anymore. Now I see a motorcycle (or horse or bulldozer or police car or airplane--not on the road, but in the air--) and say "HEY KIDS---LOOK! A MOTORCYCLE (or horse or bulldozer or police car or airplane)!!!!"
* I used to see a sunrise/sunset and not comment anymore. Now, I proclaim the beauty of God's creation to my children.
* I used to keep all these thoughts to myself. I don't anymore. Now I blog!

Mr. Fashion

Don't you ever wish you could be as
fashion-confident as a
three-year-old?

"Mom, I look so tool (cool) in this!"
"Mom--don't I woot DWEAT??"
translation: don't I look great?

A Day at Grandpa's Farm

I am very lucky that my parents also live on a farm.
And by that, I mean my kids are very lucky that their Grandma and Grandpa live on a farm.
We spent Sunday afternoon at their house to celebrate my dad's birthday.
above: Grandma Cindy waits with Christopher and Elijah while Grandpa gets the pony ready.

Christopher and Paco

Elijah and Paco

Grandpa Wayne has a buggy for Paco to pull.
Elijah waited so patiently!

Andrew "hitched" himself up and gave the little boys a ride.

Grandpa and Linnea get Paco harnessed for the buggy.
My dad is a WONDERFUL grandpa!
If you don't believe me, just ask him.
The first words he teaches the kids to say are
"my grandpa is wonderful".

Linnea is a confident buggy driver!
She LOVES to give people rides.

Even my 82-year-old Grandma Marjie
went for a ride!

Mmmm...that's good

Christopher is a top-notch beater-cleaner-upper!

Huntin' Buddies

Linnea and Andrew are really good buddies.
They love to go tramping through the woods with their two bigger brothers,
all of them decked out in gear like this.

I love it.

New Baby Kitties

My Recipe Box

Q: What does it say about me if the bulk of the recipes in my recipe box are in A and C?

A: I bake mainly with Apples, Chicken, and Chocolate!

A Smattering of Things I've Learned as a Mother (so far)

(some of these have appeared as blog posts before...)
1. You can make your child go to bed, but you cannot make them go to sleep.
2. A glue stick resembles lip balm too closely for a 2 year-old to be expected to tell the difference.
3. I didn't think I'd quite so used to (or not caring about) wearing bodily fluids. (other people's, not my own--just to clarify.)
4. If you call out to your toddlers to ask "Whatcha doin'?" and they answer with "hiding from you", you need to check it out.
5. Children's favorite toys will always be water, dirt, sand, and cardboard boxes. Singularly or in any combination thereof.
6. Buying those treat containers for your diaper bag is a waste of money. Use a baggie instead. This is because when your child drops one of those containers in church, all the little Kix and Cheerios will spill out as it rolls toward the front of the sanctuary. A baggie will just fall, and spill a little.
7. Sitting nearer the front in church will lessen the travel distance for toys and snack containers.
8. The more stuff you bring to church to keep little ones busy, the more stuff you have for them to get easily bored with, fight over, and throw. Not to mention more to pick up afterward.
9. There are times when I think "I have so got this mothering thing down." and times when I think "I have absolutely no idea what I am doing." This vacillates from moment to moment.
10. Washing poo (aka cloth diapering) is not as hard or as yucky as one would think.
11. Sprayable Oxy-Clean and Stain Stick are the two best stain treatments I have found for kids messes.
12. Children must obey. If you don't make them, you will pay for it over and over and over again later. I promise.
13. Coffee cups are a stable first cup for toddlers. They don't tip over as easily as plastic ones.
14. Children are capable of more work than grown-ups give them credit for.
15. Bath toys are a waste of money. Just use stuff you have around: an ice-cube tray, hairspray bottle caps, laundry soap bottle caps, a funnel, etc.
16. Being a mother is to know what it is to have a piece of your heart out walking around. I have known deeper pain and joy than I would have thought possible because I have children. It's effect is not lost on me.

How Easy Was That?

Last night for (one of the) bathtime(s), I had a stroke of pure, mothering genious.

You know those little glow-sticks? The kind that you can bend into a bracelet or connect for a necklace and they glow for awhile and then the thrill is gone and you throw them away?

Well, my sister-in-law Jenn brought some for the kids on Easter Sunday.

We brought them home and the kids had fun going to bed with a glowing wrist.

Back to bathtime last night...I thought, wouldn't that be fun to take a glowing bath?????

Turns out, it WAS!!

The three little boys in the tub thought it was SO fun.
I tossed three of them in and turned out the lights in the bathroom and voila! I'm the best mom EVER!

And judging by the amount of time spent outside in the sandbox and playing in the yard prior to bathtime that created, shall we say, murky? bathwater, it was like our own little phosphorescent algae bloom right in the tub!

How easy was that?

Cowgirls

Who's Been Trip-Trapping Through My Sandbox?

Today was a GLORIOUS day!
It was a grand afternoon for playing in the sandbox--just ask
Christopher and Elijah.

But wait----"What is that?" Christopher asks.
"What are those prints?"

Could it be?
Yes--it is!
Hoof prints. HOOF PRINTS.
BOVINE HOOF PRINTS.

Some cows got out yesterday and apparently passed through the sandbox.
Not many kids can say that, can they?

Just one of the many advantages of farm life...

Laundry

It's a good thing I like doing laundry.
Here is today's wash:
(I *only* have four lines--I could use a few more!)

I think I enjoy laundry because I really like order.

I like hanging the clothes up, all in a line.
They stay right where I've put them.
They don't question my authority.
They don't move without my say-so.
They stay clean.

I like to look out and see them gently blowing in the breeze.

I also like folding.
I like the neatly piled stacks of clothes.
It's a job-well-done type of feeling for me.

Perhaps I'm a little obsessive-compulsive??
Oh well, I'm not even going to pretend that I mind!

The Family

Our Family
Easter 2009

Room at the Table for Ruby

We put the clip-on seat on the table the other day for Miss Ruby.
So far, she has just sat in my lap and grabbed at my plate.

While she looks so sober, I promise she was enjoying being a big girl
sitting at the table!

~Chasin' those Cheerios~

Itchin'

My boys have been just itchin' to get outside and play in their sandbox!
They got the chance to do that yesterday.

I think it's a little bit like me and my clothesline...

Hello, Friend!!!!

Well, I had to walk through some snow to do it,
but do it, I did!!
My first load on the line this season.
Yay!!!!

Ew.

Christopher (3): "Hey Moooommmmyyyy?? Can you wash my pajamas? They are all wet."
Me: "Ok...why are they wet?"
Christopher: "They have my "achoos" on the sleeve."



How many times do I need to say "use a Kleenex"???!!!
Apparently a few more times.

If Mama Ain't Happy...

You know the old saying:
If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy?

Well, in our house it's more like
If Mama ain't happy that's her problem and she can just deal with it so let's stay the heck away from her until she does.

Elijah's Got His Eye On You

Elijah's got his eye on
you!

Oh Yeah, About My Day...

I wanted to share about my experiences yesterday.
Because writing about them is theraputic for me.
And other people find my life humorous.
So do I, after a day or two...

I give you:

Yesterday

I'd been telling Dennis for weeks now that the kids had a dentist appointment on Thursday morning and that, after last time, I would not be taking 7 kids to the dentist alone ever again.

So I took 7 kids to the dentist alone, again.

Some cow decided to get sick and Cows trump Wife.

It was Christopher's first time at the dentist.

He screamed so hard (and loud) that he burst all the little capillaries

around his eyes and got all speckle-faced.

Good times.

Elijah pinched his finger in the door while I was back with one of the other children
and he screamed, too, but not enough to burst any capillaries.
At least he got a little rubber duck out of the deal.

The other kids all had clean check-ups: no cavities!!!! Yeah!!

After the dentist, we went to get Nathaniel's glasses adjusted.

This was, thankfully, uneventful.

Next was Target and after that,

cheeseburgers at McDonald's.

Here's where it gets interesting.

I came out from McDonald's with the food

(because we only eat in the van if we ever do "eat out"; it's much easier/quicker that way)

and the van was dead.

I stayed amazingly calm for a woman with 7 children and no jumper cables, stranded in a McDonald's parking lot a half hour from home, with minimal battery left on my cell phone.

We were rescued by our pastor.

From there, we went to Wal-Mart for a couple things that I can't find at Target,
leaving the van running, of course.

Then it was on to our tatting class.

A woman in our homeschool group is teaching a tatting class and Linnea and I are learning this fun art! (It's basically lace-making, if you didn't know what tatting was.)

The other children come along and play downstairs while "the ladies" tat away upstairs.

Until 2 year-olds slam their fingers in cupboard doors and turn their finger nail purple.

More good times.

We went from tatting class to the grocery store (again, leaving the van running)
where "a few things" too quickly became $100!!!
I looked in my cart and thought, "I just bought nothing for $100."
It was flour and oatmeal and some apples and oranges; and this morning I realized it was NOT brown sugar, which I really need!!
Arghhh.

We made it home, had to make two runs at the driveway to get up the hill (MUD!!) and then got stuck in the mud when we were almost to the garage.

I was crabby--I mean, most happy, as I tried to get all the kids and bags and STUFF out of the van, up the stairs and into the house while the dogs were jumping in the van and on me.

Even more good times!

I just love my life.

Except for yesterday.

At least it makes for a good story.

It's Gonna Be A Little Longer, My Friend.

Wow.
I'm tired of snow.

I really miss my clothesline.

I miss grass.

I miss the sun.

I don't miss the mud, but I know we can't get from Winter to Spring without that farm-season in-between: MUD. So I'll take the mud.

Because this?It's gettin' old.

Miss Ruby

Miss Ruby turned 7 months old on

April 1st!

Seriously--I just had her yesterday.
Didn't I???

She is a delightful baby; it's too bad that babies in large families get so little attention...
*wink wink*

At her 6 month check, the dr. asked if she rolls over yet.
I said, "Does she need to be put down in order to learn that?"
This child is nearly always being held!
(She does roll from tummy to back, just not from back to front.)

She has basically no interest in food--she just wants Me!
I think that this is the oldest any of my kids have been to be exclusively nursing.
She gags gags gags on any type of baby cereal, so after a few tries over a couple months, I'm just not going to do baby food.

She does like bits of what we're having, but is by no means interested in a meal.
She just nibbles what we're having.

And that's all fine, because she's just her own self.
She doesn't have to do things like her siblings did.

We love her to pieces because she's our
Miss Ruby!

Music to My Ears

My Andrew performed a little concert for me the other night.


It was music to my ears.